Start of The Year
Preparation
By
Rhys Atkinson,
PGA
AAT Member and Founder of Eclipse Golf
Matteo Manassero Preparing before teeing off for a
Practice Round at the Volvo Golf Champions Event 2014
Since leaving my work on the European Tour
in 2015 I don’t spend a great
deal of time watching the golf
or tracking the players. The challenges of starting a new business are all
consuming so I rely on Social Media feeds and chatting within the industry to
keep up to speed. My goal with the new
business was to utilise the experience I had with these players to benefit
everyone from elite players to complete beginners.
So as I prepare content for my first
Eclipse Golf Newsletter of the year its actually a nice feeling to click onto
the European Tour website and into the ‘Entry List and Tee Times’ tab for the
BMW SA Open this week to see whose playing and pick out the players I know and
worked with. It reminded me of all the
preparation that would go into getting ready for a tournament as a Tour Rep and
it seemed to me that ‘Preparation’ would be a timely and appropriate theme for
this New Year article!
Preparation for me as a Tour Rep
to support the players
Preparation for the Players
for the season and the next event
Preparation for You
to get your equipment and game ready for the season!
Tour
Rep Prep
A snap shot of this year's early schedule – the Tour
Reps Bible!
Every years schedule pans out a little
differently but there are usually one or two events in South Africa prior to
The ‘Desert Swing’ in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. The early Jan events were
always a bit tricky as the Desert Swing was a 3 - week trip that required a lot
of stock to be both shipped over and carried by the Tour Reps. It was also more
than likely that there would be new products being launched and we would need
to have prepped our players specs for them to be ready to try before the event.
The SA Jan events would be prepped for
in December and either one or two reps would attend those while the others focussed
on getting ready for the Desert Swing. The
Tour is an all year business now and players will take breaks at different
times of the year for all sorts of factors so it was very difficult to achieve
the ideal of a player trialling and confirming a new product to be put in play
prior to the product launch. This meant
that many times players would test new products on the Monday or a Tuesday
before their first event of the year. This wasn’t to say they would put it in
play – that was our job and some would do so but usually it would take a little
time before we dialled the spec in for them to put it in play as their
‘gamer’. Getting an old gamer out of player’s hands
could be a challenge that’s for sure!
It
was Jan 2014 when I last worked an SA event on my own. This was the Volvo Golf
Champions event at Durban Country Club that Louis Oosthuizen won with a score
of -12. It was a fun event as I had 2 brand new staff players to work with in
Matteo Manassero and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, two of the most likable characters
you could wish to meet. The other Staff players I needed to look after that
week were Thomas Bjorn and Branden Grace who came in 2nd to Louis.
Thomas Bjorn hats, gloves and caps being packed
Preparation for this event was much like
any other although this one was a little more straight forward as it was a
limited field event of 36 players and as per its name featured all the high
profile names most of which were already tied into a full club contract so any
work with non staffers would be limited at this event (unlike most others).
Despite this the preparation for the event
was the same and followed a procedure something like the below – during the
long haul season when the truck wasn’t at the event we would prep as much stock
(shafts, heads, grips, tools, head weights etc) as we could in advance to ship
to the event. As the travel date got closer there would always be more stock we
would need as the event list altered and this would be carried by us on the
plane.
Tour
Rep preparation steps
- Ask The Tour for the entry
sheet as far in advance as possible so we can check to see who may be playing.
This would change several times before you travelled but gave you somewhere to
start
- Look at the categories of
players and see who had exemptions or who may be further down the pecking order
and may be on the cusp of getting in. There would usually be drop outs and so the
‘reserves’ would need to be prepared for as well – there was no popping back
from SA to get a players hats, balls etc.!
- Place orders for builds that
may be required by players in the field that week.
- Check notes from the previous
tournament and chat with the team to ensure you carried any particular equipment
that had been built for staffers or for any other work that needed to be
followed up whilst there.
- Check the start list for all
non-staffers who you had worked with at the previous event and carry builds for
them to test as well.
- Pack players bags with their
logoed hats (many had additional sponsor logos), gloves and balls and
towel. There were many different ball
types and players may change during the season so this was an important one to
keep track of.
Travel, accommodation and shuttles would
all need to be arranged of course but at that point you would be ready to go!
Branden Grace working hard at The Volvo Champions
even, Durban, Jan 2014
Matteo giving the thumbs up for the driver at Volvo
Champions Event, Durban 2014
Kiradech pulling out his new sticks! Volvo Golf Champions
event, Durban, Jan 2014
Tour
Player Prep
The early year events often felt more relaxed
to me. Players had their cards for the season so the pressure was not yet on.
Having said that they would be very keen to get off to a good start, make the
cuts and get some money on the board.
They would also be looking to be making any last minute adjustments to
their equipment in search of the perfect set up for that week which may differ
from previous events due to elevation, weather or any swing changes/issues they
may be having.
Players would find their own patterns for
the season. You had all sorts of scenarios, some would arrive early on Monday
morning early in search of their swing, which they may not be comfortable with.
Others may arrive early to walk the course or you may bump into their caddies learning
the course and making notes.
Others would arrive on Monday night with a
view to getting an early night and starting their preparation on Tuesday
morning.
Some would play the front 9 holes and range
practice on Monday and the back 9 on Tuesday.
Others would play 18 in one go and if happy leave it or if not look to
get a 2nd 9 in before Wednesday.
Wednesday was Pro Am day – not all players
would be in this and so for those who were it’s a chance to play the course
competitively and for those who were not it would be a range day.
Caddies would be hard at work either
walking the course, attending practice sessions, working out yardages with that
weeks conditions and getting used to any new or adjusted clubs their player was
putting into the bag that week.
For Durban it was a quiet Monday, Padraig Harrington
was there early and was one of the few players who went on the range. He
practiced like a Trojan through immense heat - his caddy was standing on the
range fielding pitch shots for 4 hours straight! Kiradech arrived late on Monday, as did
Matteo. Thomas arrived on Tuesday but
went straight out onto the course and I didn’t work with him until Tuesday
afternoon. The range was fairly quiet for long periods so I spent a bit of time
on the course watching the players, particularly our new signings to better
understand their game and potential equipment work. Wednesday was busier on the
range when most players put in some time despite the heat and the fact that the
range was some distance away and needed a shuttle ride to get there.
Branden was happy with his clubs that week – he
finished 2nd!
And so the season begins. Two different sets
of preparation and pressures for both the players and for those whose job it is
to support their equipment needs at each event.
Our objectives was to get the best performing equipment into player’s
hands and ensure they were as happy as possible with their clubs so they could
concentrate on their game. Preparation was the key to that.
Your
Preparation
So what can we take from this element of
Tour life for you? Well, like the
players you will all have your own routines and schedules that include your
jobs, families, friends and other life circumstances. Preparation for you and
your golf is in part having your equipment assessed and if necessary altered or
possibly identify areas you need to renew. Time and money are the most likely reasons why
you might not check in with your Pro or Equipment specialist but I would
suggest there is an efficiency aspect to take into consideration – its more
expensive in both these areas (as well as your ultimate enjoyment and success
in the game)to fix something that is broken than to maintain it and keep it in
good working order. Preparation and maintenance also allow you to identify
opportunities for improvement as well as spot warning signs of deterioration.
If you come to see us you will get the same
level of attention to details that we give to Tour Players – its part of our
DNA. I was working with these players
every week and worked on their equipment every
week. This tells you that your
game changes, as do the conditions. If you have someone who knows you like your
coach does they can become a partner to help you get the best out of your game.
That’s how we’d like to help you. We already work closely with the coaches at
all of our venues at Horsham Golf and Fitness, Horne Park and Knightsbridge
Golf School to ensure the equipment compliments their students technique and
works in harmony with their game.
Give us a call for free advice or equipment
check and we’ll help you get prepared!
Rhys
Atkinson,
Eclipse Golf Ltd
Office: 01293
223 038
Mobile: 07715
419 862
Email:
enquiries@eclipse-golf.co.uk
Web: www.eclipse-golf.co.uk
Copyright Eclipse Golf Ltd 2016. All Rights Reserved
